The National Flag, when flown at half staff, shall be first hoisted to the peak of the staff and then lowered to a point where the distance between the top of the Flag and the peak of the staff is one third of the length of the staff; the Flag, when lowered, shall be again hoisted to the peak before it is lowered.

Article 12 The National Flag, when displayed under Articles 5, 6 and 7 of this Law, shall be hoisted in the morning and lowered in the evening.

Where the National Flag shall be displayed under this Law, when the weather is inclement, it is permissible that the Flag not be displayed.

(1) The face of the Flag shall be red and rectangular; the proportion of its length and height shall be 3 to 2. The upper left of the face of the Flag shall be studded with five yellow five-pointed stars. One of the stars shall be bigger than the others, with its circumcircle's diametre being three-tenth of the height of the Flag, and shall be placed in the left; the four other stars shall be smaller, with their circumcircle's diametre being one-tenth of the height of the Flag, encircling the big star on its right in the shape of an arch. The cover of the staff shall be white.

(Promulgated by the Presidium of the First Plenary Session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on September 28, 1949)

Article 10 The National Flag shall be displayed by military organs at barracks and on military vessels in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Central Military Commission.

Copyright © 2008 Sheldon Brown What's New Tech Forum Site Feedback & Questions Back to the Harris Cyclery Home Page URL: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/bike-screensaver1024x768

Article 6 Departments under the State Council, the standing committees of the local people's congresses, the people's governments, the people's courts, the people's procuratorates and the local committees of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference at various levels shall display the National Flag during working days.

In a national autonomous area, the National Flag may be displayed on the anniversary of the founding of the national autonomous area and during major traditional festivals of the minority nationalities.

Image

Measures for the display of the National Flag by public security vessels on frontier defence, security or fire control duties shall be prescribed by the departments in charge of public security under the State Council.

The National Flag, when displayed with another flag or flags, shall be either at the center, above the other flag or flags, or in a position of prominence.

The half-staffing of the National Flag in accordance with the provisions of (3) and (4) in the first paragraph and of the second paragraph of this Article shall be decided by the State Council.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the competent department in charge of communications under the State Council and the General Political Department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army shall exercise supervision over and administration of the display and use of the National Flag within their respective jurisdiction.

Article 16 The National Flag, when hoisted or lowered from a vertical staff, shall be hoisted or lowered slowly. When hoisted, the National Flag must reach the peak of the staff; when lowered, it may not touch the ground.

The National Flag of the People's Republic of China shall be made according to the Directions for the Making of the National Flag promulgated by the Presidium of the First Plenary Session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Article 19 Whoever desecrates the National Flag of the People's Republic of China by publicly and wilfully burning, mutilating, scrawling on, defiling or trampling upon it shall be investigated for criminal responsibilities according to law; where the offence is relatively minor, he shall be detained for not more than 15 days by the public security organ in reference to the provisions of the Regulations on Administrative Penalties for Public Security.

Article 18 The National Flag and the design thereof shall not be used as a trade mark or for advertising purposes, and shall not be used in private funeral activities.

a. To determine the position of the five stars, the face of the Flag shall be first folded both ways to form four equal rectangles; then the rectangle on the upper left shall be vertically divided into ten equal sections and horizontally divided into fifteen equal sections.

Article 8 The National Flag may be displayed when important celebration and commemorative activities, large-scale cultural and sports activities and major exhibitions are held.

(2) The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the State Council, the Central Military Commission, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate;

In minority nationality areas where the Spring Festival is not a traditional festival, whether the National Flag is displayed during the Spring Festival shall be prescribed by the authorities practising self-government in the national autonomous areas.

(3) The measurement in common use for the National Flag, from which people from various circles may choose at their discretion shall be as follows:

The National Flag shall be made by enterprises designated by the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government.

Article 11 Measures for the display of the National Flag by civilian vessels or foreign vessels entering Chinese territorial waters shall be prescribed by the competent department in charge of communications under the State Council.

b. The central point of the big five-pointed star shall be at a point in the rectangle where the fifth line from above (or the fifth line from below), and the fifth line from the left (or the tenth line from the right) meet. The method of drawing shall be: taking this point as the centre and the length of three such equals as the radius to make a circle. On the circumference of this circle, five points with equal distances from each other shall be determined, one of the points must be in the right above position of the circle. Then connect each of the five points with every other point to form a straight line respectively. The outline formed by these five straight lines shall be the required big five-pointed star. An angle of the five-pointed star shall point in the right above direction.

c. The centres of the four small five-pointed stars shall be as follows: the first shall be at a point, in the rectangle, where the second line from above (or the eighth line from below), and the tenth line from the left (or the fifth line from the right) meet; the second shall be at a point where the fourth line from above (or the sixth line from below), and the twelfth line from the left (or the third line from the right) meet; the third shall be at a point where the seventh line from above (or the third line from below), and the twelfth line from the left (or the third line from the right) meet; the fourth shall be at a point where the ninth line from above (or the first line from below), and the tenth line from the left (or the fifth line from the right) meet. The method for drawing shall be: taking each of the above four points as the centre and the length of one such equal as the radius to make four circles. On each circle, five points with equal distances from each other shall be determined. One of such points must be on the line linking the centre of the circle with the centre of the big five-pointed star. Then the same methods used in forming the big five-pointed star shall be used to form the small five-pointed stars. The four small five-pointed stars shall respectively have an angle pointing right at the centre of the big five-pointed star.

(4) Airports, harbours and railway stations of entry or exit and other frontier ports, frontier stations and coastal defence stations.

The shape and colour of either side of the National Flag shall be identical, whereas the five stars on both sides of the Flag shall be opposite to each other. For convenience's sake, these directions shall take the circumstances where the staff is on the left as the basis for illustration. Where the staff is on the right, the word "left" used in these directions shall all be changed to "right", while the word "right" referring to direction shall all be changed to "left".

Article 9 Measures for the display and use of the National Flag in diplomatic activities and by the Chinese embassies and consulates stationed in foreign countries and other diplomatic representative agencies shall be prescribed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The National Flag, when raised or carried in a procession with another flag or flags, shall be in front of the other flag or flags.

When unfortunate events causing especially serious casualties occur or when serious natural calamities have caused heavy casualties, the National Flag may be flown at half staff as a token of mourning.

Dates and places for the half-staffing of the National Flag under this Article shall be decided by the funeral organ established by the State, or shall be decided by the State Council.

Article 3 The National Flag of the People's Republic of China is the symbol and hallmark of the People's Republic of China.

When the National Flags of two or more nations are displayed in foreign affairs activities, relevant provisions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the international practice shall be followed.

Article 4 The local people's governments at various levels shall exercise supervision over and administration of the display and use of the National Flag within their respective administrative areas.

(Adopted at the 14th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People's Congress on June 28, 1990 and promulgated by Order No.28 of the President of the People's Republic of China on June 28, 1990)

When a Flag-hoisting ceremony is held, persons present shall face the Flag and stand at attention to salute the Flag, and the National Anthem may be played or sung while the National Flag is being hoisted.

Article 7 State organs at all levels and mass organizations shall display the National Flag on National Day, International Labour Day, New Year's Day and the Spring Festival; the National Flag may be displayed, when conditions permit, in premises of enterprises, institutions, villagers' committees and residents' committees, in urban residential compounds (buildings) and in public places such as squares and parks.

Article 14 The National Flag shall be lowered to the half staff as a token of mourning when the following persons pass away: (1) President of the People's Republic of China, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Premier of the State Council and Chairman of the Central Military Commission;

Article 1 This Law is enacted in accordance with the Constitution with a view to defending the dignity of the National Flag, enhancing citizens' consciousness of the State and promoting the spirit of patriotism.